Tornado in Motley County, Texas

A large multi-vortex tornado developed in far north-central Motley County at 2033 CST. This tornado was nearly stationary at first, before drifting slowly north followed by an abrupt acceleration to the northwest into Hall County (continued below). Several storm spotters observed this tornado and debris cloud as it crossed Farm-to-Market Road 656. This tornado tracked over open ranch and canyon lands resulting in very few damage indicators. A limited road network and flooded roads prevented a post-storm ground survey conducted by National Weather Service meteorologists from assessing damage. Therefore, the tornado was given a rating of EF-unknown while in Motley County.

A second consecutive afternoon and evening of scattered thunderstorms developed along an active dryline. Thunderstorms initially developed across the eastern South Plains and quickly became severe under an extremely unstable atmosphere. Storms slowly moved into the Rolling Plains with Hall County sustaining much of the damage reported on the evening of the 23rd. A significant tornado was observed in Motley and Hall Counties from 2030 CST to 2106 CST associated with a slow moving thunderstorm. This half mile wide EF3 tornado damaged steel pylons supporting electric lines in Hall County. The tornado had an erratic motion moving from the southeast to northwest before dissipating a few miles east of Turkey (Hall County).